Bracket device

ABSTRACT

A bracket device includes a bracket and a fastening member. The fastening member is pivoted to the bracket by a shaft member. The bracket includes a first structure, and the fastening member includes a second structure. When the fastening member is located at a locked position, the second structure is in cooperation with the first structure, so as to prevent the fastening member from tilting relative to the bracket. One of the first structure and the second structure is a protruding portion, and the other one of the first structure and the second structure is a hole or a recessed portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/884,408, filed on Jan. 31, 2018. This application claims thebenefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/884,408, which was filed on Jan.31, 2018, and is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bracket device, and moreparticularly, to a bracket device adapted to a slide rail and a racksystem.

2. Description of the Prior Art

As shown in FIG. 1, a carried object 100 is conventionally mounted to arack 104 by a slide rail 102 or a slide rail assembly in a rack system,wherein the slide rail 102 is equipped with a bracket device 106, whichis configured to mount the slide rail 102 to the rack 104.

Furthermore, the bracket device 106 includes a bracket 108 and afastening member 110, wherein the fastening member 110 is pivoted to thebracket 108 by a shaft member 112, and the fastening member 110 is ableto pivot relative to the bracket 108 to a locked position P. When thefastening member 110 is located at the locked position P, a firstengaging feature 114 of the fastening member 110 is engaged with asecond engaging feature 116 of the carried object 100, such that thecarried object 100 is retained at a position.

However, the fastening member 110 is pivoted to the bracket 108 by theshaft member 112 being disposed through a pivotal hole 118 of thebracket 108. In practical application, a hole size of the pivotal hole118 is greater than a diameter of the shaft member 112 for specificpurpose, such that the fastening member 110 is movable along a directionD with respect to the bracket 108 via the shaft member 112.

In such a manner, when the second engaging feature 116 of the carriedobject 100 is engaged with the first engaging feature 114, the fasteningmember 110 will vibrate up and down or be tilted by an external force Faccidentally applied thereon, as shown in FIG. 2, which results in thatthe second engaging feature 116 of the carried object 100 is unable toengage with the first engaging feature 114 of the fastening member 110.Alternatively, the aforesaid issue occurs due to tolerance between theshaft member 112 and the pivotal hole 118 of the bracket 108.

Thus, how to develop a reliable bracket device has become an issue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bracket device with capability ofenhancing stability of a fastening member as being retained at aposition.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a bracket devicecomprises a bracket and a fastening member. The bracket comprises a sidewall and at least one mounting member adjacent to the side wall. Thefastening member is pivoted to the bracket by a shaft member. When thefastening member is located at a position, a fastening portion of thefastening member is adjacent to the at least one mounting member. Whenthe fastening member is not located at the position, the fasteningportion of the fastening member is away from the at least one mountingmember. The bracket comprises a first structure, and the fasteningmember comprises a second structure. When the fastening member islocated at the position, the second structure is in cooperation with thefirst structure, so as to be configured to prevent the fastening memberfrom moving along an axis direction of the shaft member. One of thefirst structure and the second structure is a protruding portion, andthe other one of the first structure and the second structure is a holeor a recessed portion.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a bracketdevice comprises a bracket and a fastening member. The fastening memberis pivoted to the bracket by a shaft member. The bracket comprises afirst structure, and the fastening member comprises a second structure.When the fastening member is located at a locked position, the secondstructure is in cooperation with the first structure, so as to preventthe fastening member from tilting relative to the bracket. One of thefirst structure and the second structure is a protruding portion, andthe other one of the first structure and the second structure is a holeor a recessed portion.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a bracket device of a slide rail beingadapted to a rack and engaged with a carried object in the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the bracket device of the slide railbeing adapted to the rack and disengaged from the carried object in theprior art.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a carried object beingmounted to a rack by a slide rail and a bracket device according to afirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded diagram of the bracket device according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a fastening portion of the bracket device in alocked status according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the fastening portion of the bracket device in anunlocked status according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the bracket device of the slide rail implementedin the rack according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a bracket device according to a second embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged diagram indicating region A in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a bracket device according to a third embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 3, a carried object 20 is mounted to a rack 24 by aslide rail 22 (or a slide rail assembly). In the present invention, thecarried object 20 can be an electronic apparatus or a chassis.Hereinafter, it is illustrative that the carried object 20 includes afirst portion 20 a and a second portion 20 b, and a width of the firstportion 20 a is greater than a width of the second portion 20 b.

Furthermore, each of the slide rail 22 is mounted to a first post 24 aof the rack 24 by a mounting member 28 of a bracket device 26 andmounted to a second post 24 b of the rack 24 by another bracket device30.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the bracket device 26 includes a bracket32 and a fastening member 34. The fastening member 34 is pivoted to thebracket 32.

The bracket 32 is coupled with the aforesaid slide rail 22. For example,the bracket 32 is securely connected to the aforesaid slide rail 22 in ariveting manner or in a welding manner. In practical, the bracket 32includes a side wall 36 and at least one mounting member 28. The atleast one mounting member 28 is adjacent to the side wall 36.Preferably, the bracket 32 further includes an edge wall 40. The edgewall 40 is substantially perpendicularly connected to the side wall 36,and the at least one mounting member 28 is disposed on the edge wall 40.

In the present first embodiment, the bracket 32 includes a firststructure 42, and the fastening member 34 includes a second structure44. The first structure 42 includes two protruding portions 42 a, 42 b.The two protruding portions 42 a, 42 b laterally protrude from the sidewall 36, and the second structure 44 is an extended wall of thefastening member 34. The second structure 44 is arranged between the twoprotruding portions 42 a, 42 b. Preferably, the side wall 36 of thebracket 32 has an opening H, and the two protruding portions 42 a, 42 bare disposed on an upper side and a lower side of the opening H,respectively. On the other hand, the second structure 44 is locatedcorresponding to the opening H.

Preferably, the bracket 32 further includes at least one protruded lug46. The at least one protruded lug 46 is disposed on the side wall 36,and the at least one protruded lug 46 has a guiding feature 48. Theguiding feature 48 is oriented identically to a length direction of theside wall 36 (or the aforesaid slide rail 22). Hereinafter, it isillustrative of an example that the guiding feature 48 is an elongatedhole oriented longitudinally. On the other hand, the fastening member 34is pivoted to the bracket 32. In the present invention, the fasteningmember 34 is pivoted to the guiding feature 48 by a shaft member 50being disposed through a portion of the guiding feature 48. For example,a size of the guiding feature 48 is slightly greater than a diameter ofthe shaft member 50, such that not only the fastening member 34 is ableto pivot relative to the bracket 32 by the shaft member 50, but also thefastening member 34 is able to move relative to the side wall 36 of thebracket 32 along the guiding feature 48.

Furthermore, the fastening member 34 includes at least one connectingportion 52, a fastening portion 54 and an engaging feature 56. The atleast one connecting portion 52 is disposed between the second structure44 and the fastening portion 54, such that the shaft member 50 isdisposed through the at least one connecting portion 52 and the at leastone protruded lug 46. The engaging feature 56 is adjacent to thefastening portion 54. For example, the engaging feature 56 is a hook,and the engaging feature 56 is connected to the fastening portion 54 anddisposed adjacent to a front end of the fastening portion 54. Theengaging feature 56 is configured to be engaged with another engagingfeature 58 of the carried object 20 (or called target object) mounted tothe aforesaid slide rail 22. Preferably, the bracket device 26 furtherincludes a resilient member 60. The resilient member 60 is configured toprovide the fastening member 34 with a resilient force.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the fastening member 34 is able to bemoved from a locked position P1 (i.e., a position) to an unlockedposition P2 (i.e., another position) along a pivoting direction R, oralternatively, from the unlocked position P2 to the locked position P1.Preferably, the fastening member 34 is forced to retain at the lockedposition P1 by the resilient force provided by the resilient member 60.

When the fastening member 34 is at the locked position P1, the fasteningportion 54 of the fastening member 34 is adjacent to the at least onemounting member 28, as shown in FIG. 5. When the fastening member 34 isnot at the locked position P1, e.g., when the fastening member 34 is atthe unlocked position P2, the fastening portion 54 of the fasteningmember 34 is away from the at least one mounting member 28, as shown inFIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the slide rail 22 is mounted to the first post24 a of the rack 24 by the at least one mounting member 28 of thebracket 32 and the fastening member 34 is at the locked position P1, thefastening portion 54 of the fastening member 34 is used for locking thefirst post 24 a, and the engaging feature 56 of the fastening member 34is used for being engaged with the other engaging feature 58 of thecarried object 20 as the carried object 20 is illustrative of being at aretracted position L via the slide rail 22.

In practical, when the fastening member 34 is at the locked position P1,the second structure 44 is in cooperation with the first structure 42,so as to prevent the fastening member 34 from moving along an axisdirection X of the shaft member 50. In other words, the second structure44 and the first structure 42 are able to prevent the fastening member34 from moving along a height direction relative to a longitudinaldirection of the side wall 36 or the slide rail 22.

For example, when the fastening member 34 is at the locked position P1,an external force F1 or F2 is accidentally applied on the fasteningmember 34, it is able to prevent the fastening member 34 from movingupwards or downwards that the second structure 44 is abutted between thetwo protruding portions 42 a, 42 b. In other words, the two protrudingportions 42 a, 42 b of the first structure 42 in cooperation with thesecond structure 44 are able to prevent the fastening member 34 frommoving upwards, downwards or along a tilted direction relative to theside wall 36 of the bracket 32.

In summary, when the fastening member 34 is at the locked position P1,the aforesaid configuration ensures that the engaging feature 56 of thefastening member 34 is engaged with the other engaging feature 58 of thecarried object 20. One of the advantages of the aforesaid configurationis to prevent the fastening member 34 from disengaging from the carriedobject 20.

As shown in FIG. 7, it should be noticed that a first width W1 isdefined between the two protruding portions 42 a, 42 b of the firststructure 42 of the bracket 32, a second width W2 of the secondstructure 44 of the fastening member 34 is defined along a heightdirection relative to a longitudinal direction of the bracket 32, andthe second width W2 is substantially identical to the first width W1. Asa result, the second structure 44 can be constrained between the twoprotruding portions 42 a, 42 b of the first structure 42, and the twoprotruding portions 42 a, 42 b of the first structure 42 are able toprevent the second structure 44 from moving upwards, downwards or alonga tilted direction relative to the bracket 32.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the major difference between the bracketdevice 200 in the second embodiment and that in the first embodiment isthe configuration of the first structure and the second structure.

The first structure 202 and the second structure 204 of the bracketdevice 200 are a combination of a protruding portion and a hole. Inpractical, the bracket 206 includes a first structure 202. For example,the first structure 202 is illustrative of a protruding portion adjacentto the edge wall 208. On the other hand, the fastening member 210includes a second structure 204, and the second structure 204 isillustrative of a hole. The hole is for accommodating the protrudingportion, such that the protruding portion is constrained by inner wallsof the hole. In such a manner, the combination of the first structure202 (i.e., the protruding portion) and the second structure 204 (i.e.,the hole) is able to prevent the fastening member 210 from movingupwards, downwards or along a tilted direction relative to the bracket206. In an alternative embodiment, the first structure 202 can be ahole, and the second structure 204 can be a protruding portion.

In summary, when the fastening member 210 is at a locked position P1,the aforesaid configuration ensures that an engaging feature 212 of thefastening member 210 is engaged with the other engaging feature 58 ofthe carried object 20.

As shown in FIG. 9, it should be noticed that a first width W1 isdefined by the first structure 202 of the bracket 206 along a heightdirection relative to a longitudinal direction of the bracket 206, asecond width W2 is defined by the second structure 204 of the fasteningmember 210 along the height direction, and the second width W2 issubstantially identical to the first width W1. As a result, the secondstructure 204 (i.e., the hole) can accommodate the first structure 202(i.e., the protruding portion), and the second structure 204 (i.e., thehole) is able to prevent the first structure 202 (i.e., the protrudingportion) from moving upwards, downwards or along a tilted directionrelative to the bracket 206.

As shown in FIG. 10, the major difference between the bracket device 300in the third embodiment and that in the second embodiment is theconfiguration of the first structure and the second structure.

The first structure 302 and the second structure 304 of the bracketdevice 300 are a combination of a protruding portion and a hole. Inpractical, the bracket 306 includes a first structure 302. The firststructure 302 is illustrative of a hole disposed on the side wall 308 ofthe bracket 306. On the other hand, the fastening member 310 includesthe second structure 304. The second structure 304 is illustrative of aprotruding portion configured to be inserted in the hole, such that theprotruding portion is constrained by inner walls of the hole. In such amanner, the combination of the first structure 302 (i.e., the hole) andthe second structure 304 (i.e., the protruding portion) is able toprevent the fastening member 310 from moving upwards, downwards or alonga tilted direction relative to the bracket 306. In an alternativeembodiment, the first structure 302 can be a protruding portion, and thesecond structure 304 can be a hole.

In summary, when the fastening member 310 is at a locked position P1,the aforesaid configuration ensures that an engaging feature 312 of thefastening member 310 is engaged with the other engaging feature 58 ofthe carried object 20.

As shown in FIG. 10, it should be noticed that an amount of the firststructure 302 (i.e., the hole) of the bracket 306 is two, and a firstwidth W1 is defined between the two holes (i.e., the first structures302). An amount of the second structure 304 (i.e., the protrudingportion) is two, and a second width W2 is defined between the twoprotruding portions (i.e., the second structures 304). The second widthW2 is substantially identical to the first width W1. As a result, thesecond structures 304 (i.e., the protruding portions) can respectivelyengage with the first structures 302 (i.e., the holes), and the firststructures 302 (i.e., the holes) are able to prevent the secondstructures 304 (i.e., the protruding portions) from moving upwards,downwards or along a tilted direction relative to the bracket 306.

As shown in the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the firststructure and the second structure can be a combination of a protrudingportion and a recessed portion, and related descriptions thereof areomitted herein for simplicity.

In summary, the bracket device of the present invention has an advantagethat the second structure and the first structure are configured tocooperatively prevent the fastening member from moving along the axisdirection of the shaft member.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bracket device, comprising: a bracketcomprising a side wall and at least one mounting member adjacent to theside wall; and a fastening member pivoted to the bracket by a shaftmember, wherein when the fastening member is located at a position, afastening portion of the fastening member is adjacent to the at leastone mounting member; when the fastening member is not located at theposition, the fastening portion of the fastening member is away from theat least one mounting member; wherein the bracket comprises a firststructure, and the fastening member comprises a second structure;wherein when the fastening member is located at the position, the secondstructure is in cooperation with the first structure, so as to beconfigured to prevent the fastening member from moving along an axisdirection of the shaft member; wherein one of the first structure andthe second structure is a protruding portion, and the other one of thefirst structure and the second structure is a hole or a recessedportion.
 2. A bracket device, comprising: a bracket; and a fasteningmember pivoted to the bracket by a shaft member; wherein the bracketcomprises a first structure, and the fastening member comprises a secondstructure; wherein when the fastening member is located at a lockedposition, the second structure is in cooperation with the firststructure, so as to prevent the fastening member from tilting relativeto the bracket; wherein one of the first structure and the secondstructure is a protruding portion, and the other one of the firststructure and the second structure is a hole or a recessed portion.